The Price of a Paycheck
by ScarletteQuill
Summary: It's tough times for an out of work high-schooler in a Fae/Human border town, and Sarah takes a surprising job offer, as champion & tribune for the Labyrinth. Mini-arcs. Set in the Oddford universe.
1. Business Trip I

Sometimes a room changes when a person enters. A wisp of a new smell permeates. The floor creaks in different ways. Shadows rearrange themselves. The change is subliminally obvious. You don't even have to be conscious to feel it.

It was that feeling that woke Sarah up in the middle of the night, and it did not make her happy.

She sat upright in bed to see Jareth the Goblin King patiently leaning against the opposite wall. His frock coat was cobalt blue, his cravat was ice blue, and the smirk on his face was infuriating.

Sarah's expression turned venomous. "What?" She growled. No response from the intruding monarch. "I have an exam tomorrow, so this better be important."

"In fine form this morning aren't we?" He said apathetically. "I'm afraid it's business as usual my dear Erinye." With a wave of his hand, her bedside lamp switched on and her duvet slid to the floor.

She rolled her eyes as she got up to retrieve her work jeans and a pullover. "So, is it office work or a business trip?"

It was a strange and euphemistic code they'd developed over the past year since Sarah took the Goblin King's offer of employment. It served to mask the implausible nature of the job in mixed company, as well as to preserve at least an illusion of Sarah's remaining innocence.

His answer was coded in kind. "Unfortunately, we have some traveling to do, Gosling." Jareth purred nonchalantly. "I've located an old friend of mine outside town. Introductions are in order."

Sarah heaved a sigh from behind her Oriental screen as she changed pants. It still managed to strike her how cavalier he managed to sound about what was likely his current mission in life.

It had been a couple of months into her employment when they learned the crowd of incubi and succubae who'd once been Jareth's peers was not happy he left them to jump back on the wagon. The group of lechers had proceeded to join the rebellion against Faerie's high royalty and wreak havoc. Their first target was the heir apparent to the high throne, a sixteen-year-old darling with an open heart and a trusting mind.

Calria would have been the perfect prize for the two incubi they sent, were it not for a couple things. One- she was one of Sarah's best friends and classmates. Two- she was Jareth's cousin, whom he had helped raise and now regarded as closer than a sister. And Three, she was the reason for their reunification and the first thing they agreed upon in years.

The attacking 'inkers' were dealt with swiftly though the repercussions had lasted. Calria found wisdom through the ordeal. Jareth found a purpose in the human realm, aside from looking after the heir apparent. And Sarah, she found herself on the Labyrinth's payroll (and not a moment too soon in this economy).

However, had she known the inconvenient hours and overall risk factor of being the Labyrinth's champion and a licensed incubus hunter, she would have reconsidered Jareth's _second _offer. She brusquely ignored Jareth's small talk while changing and purposefully nudged his shoulder after emerging from behind the screen.

"Who's the target tonight?" She asked while grappling behind her headboard for the knife she'd hidden there.

"Malthus Lothair. He's a second level incubus and a Snaketoungue. A nasty bugger with quite the reputation. And Sarah," he looked over to see her retrieving her gun from under a loose floorboard. "He likes them young."

A satisfied click came from the modified revolver. "I'll be sure to remember that."

Sarah fished ammunition, another knife, and her holster from their respective hiding places before she was ready. "Have we got far to go? Because I'm choosing the restaurant if we do."

"It's only a mile or so from the roadhouse," said Jareth, already appearing more owlish. "We'll be taking the car."

Oo0oO

"Didn't even offer to zap me into his stupid car," mumbled Sarah as she scrambled down her trellis into the back yard. It had become disturbingly easy to sneak out of her house after all the midnight 'business trips'. A short sprint across the vacant lot and she hopped into the purring black Camero waiting for her.

Of course Jareth couldn't have a normal vehicle now that he spent half his time on the human side of the border. It wasn't just the usual rich twit's sports car either; it had to have a horse demon trapped in the engine. Said demon, whom Sarah affectionately dubbed Kit, chirped happily as she settled into the passenger side. A classic rock station began to play on the radio.

Jareth scowled and floored the gas. For the first time that night, his partner smiled. "You're just mad because Kit likes my music better than yours."

"I am _annoyed _when you take feral creatures under my authority and proceed to make pets out of them. You are becoming quite predictable, Gosling."

"Y.H.N.P.O.M., your Majesty," Sarah had found a baseball cap in the glove compartment and was tugging it over her eyes. She may yet salvage some sleep before they passed the roadhouse.

* * *

_A/N: Most of these stories will be set as a supplement to the Oddford universe which you can find here (_.com/gallery/#The-Odd-One_) at my deviantart posted comic isn't as far along as this fic is set, but will eventually become a part of the plot. _

_I couldn't resist putting a Knight Rider reference in there. My brother loved that show & is excellent eighties nostalgia. As for what Y.H.N.P.O.M. means, it is an acronym of a quote from the film, and I question your right to call yourself a Labyrinth fan if you can't decipher it eventually.  
_


	2. The beginning, in her words

As far as I was concerned, my time in the Labyrinth was as epic as my life would get, and I was perfectly fine with that. I'd long come to terms with what I learned there (if not necessarily the ways _how_) and decided that if nothing had happened to me after two and a half years, nothing was going to.

True, I still spent some time with Hoggle and the boys every week, even though we all seemed to be getting a bit busier. Goblins would show up for cookies or sympathy every so often, but I got used to my new version of normal. It was when Dad moved the family to Oddford the autumn after the Labyrinth that I discovered how normal I really was. Lydia, Richard, Coraline, and Helena all were new friends with stories similar to mine. I thought of our proverbial trips through the looking glass as a part of growing up and the general weirdness spicing Oddford as a fact of life.

So I thought that was it. Supernatural things were the spice in my life, occasionally providing some help or diversion, but never again taking center stage. It would be the beginning of my junior year at Oddford High when I found out the opposite was true, and I was going to be the spice in _their _lives.

But not willingly.


	3. New Girl in Town

At first glance, Calria was completely normal, and for that, Sarah was grateful. She loved her other friends who spent their preteen years having adventures like hers, but breaking in a new Traveler could be time consuming. She could always sense the mix of secret knowledge and out of place awkwardness that tended to accompany Travelers like herself. Sure, Calria had a slightly ethereal air, but she was new to school, and you couldn't live in a border town like Oddford without some weirdness down the line.

Calria had been lost as a haint looking for her locker, and Sarah helped her out. They had the same first period and spent it snarking side-by-side in the back of the class. Lunch was spent comparing classes, dishing out dirt on teachers, and suggesting good coffee shops. They agreed to meet up at one such cafe that evening.

Sarah was surprised by her good luck. Considering her history of crappy first impressions, she and Calria had hit it off quite well. Her new friend seemed like the type to make friends with everyone, but without compromising her own personality. If anyone could battle Sarah when she went into her megalomaniacal, hyper-competitive mode (William-zilla, as Turner put it), Calria could be that contender.

At the Clockwork Bean, Sarah & Calria had the wandering, lengthy conversations best friends at first sight tend to have. Sarah didn't know how late it had gotten until she received Momma-Karen's 9:30 'It's a school night. Wrap it up' text.

Groaning, Sarah grabbed her bag. "My stepmom wants me home." She noticed Calria's posture slump for a moment. "Aren't your parents worried about you?"

Calria laughed. "I live on my own."

"Wow, how did you get so lucky."

The new girl shifted awkwardly as they left the shop. "My parents work out of the –erm- country. They wanted me to stay grounded and go to a normal high school. So, I ended up here. My parents support my house & necessities as long as I keep up my studies."

Some people had all the luck. "Cool. Slightly strange, but cool."

Calria shrugged. "A lot about me is strange."

Sarah inwardly snorted. _Sister, I think I've got the market cornered on stra- OH CRAP!_

She didn't see the stupid owl until it swooped down upon her with a familiar voice saying her name on the wind. Mid-air, the owl form shifted to that of a man as Sarah attempted to remember her katas and not have panic attack. Did he have to choose now to slink back out after two years of radio silence?

The man-shape produced something round and glowing in his hand. "I've brought you a gift," the low voice said before hurling the ball straight at Sarah and Calria.

_This could not get any worse._

_**This could not get any worse!**_

Then, without flinching, Calria stepped forward and caught the crystal confidently in her palm. She then began to tear the Goblin King a new one at the top of her lungs, using his first name.

Well apparently it could get worse.


	4. The Truth Will Out

Sarah made it five feet after they left Jareth to nearly collapse onto a park bench. Calria rushed to her side. "Take it easy. I forget all that information is hard to process the first time."

"Oh no. I can take information like that. I get it all time. I'm friends with two pirates and a prince," snapped Sarah. "What I can't take is that your **freaking** cousin is the man who put my life into a blender!" With a huff, she curled up in the corner of the bench.

Calria did not run off scared, get embarrassed, or get angry, and for that, Sarah's respect for the princess grew. After a quiet minute, she looked to Sarah.

"When I was ten years old, my father and Jareth spent Christmas Eve yelling at each other before he stormed out of the palace without saying goodbye. The past couple years, he'd been spending more and more time being a frat boy idiot, but that night we lost him. Jareth was my best friend, and I thought he was gone forever."

Whoa. That was unexpected, to say the least. Sarah had the distinct feeling of suddenly being told she was a bit character in someone else's story. She leaned forward, encouraging Calria to continue.

"Two and a half years ago, he showed up without warning. He looked like he hadn't slept in a week and acted like someone knocked sense into him. That someone was you. By doing the right thing, _by telling him no_, you woke him up. I really don't want to sound creepy, but you're sort of my hero."

Sarah's mouth got very dry, presumably from its hanging open for a few minutes. She quickly cleared her throat. "I was just trying to fix my own mistake. It wasn't anything special."

"You're right. But nothing special at the right time, in the right place, to the right person, can have a huge impact. Take it from someone who's had to study _a lot_ of history. 'Nothing special' can change the world."

"You are surprisingly insightful, your Majesty," Sarah stood with a mock curtsy before offering her hand to Calria.

"Oh come off it. I've been in training since I was three and a diplomat since I was thirteen; don't give me the Disney princess treatment. I'm on shore leave until I turn twenty anyway." Calria wagged a finger at her giggling friend. "So no 'your Majesty' business."

"Is that why you're here?" Asked Sarah after they'd been walking for a while. "Taking a break?"

"It's part of training the heir. I'm technically in academic exile until I come of age at twenty. Keeps me down to Earth, I guess. Plus home isn't the most comfortable place to be in government at the moment."

A shadow passed over Calria's normally cheerful face. Sarah noticed. "What does that mean?"

"Politics are stupid, that's all. It's actually fun being somewhere without all this pressure to perform. I miss my family, though. Not having my little siblings around feels weird."

"Did not peg you for a big sister."

Calria smirked. "I was spoiled at a young age to make up for the training that came later. I have three younger brothers and two little sisters who are lucky to get an abbreviated version of my education. Connection-wise, Jareth is the closest thing to a sibling I have. He was the once to take care of me as a kid."

Both girls flinched at Jareth's accidental mention. As they neared the William's street, silence settled over them like an uninvited guest. Then a thought occurred to Sarah, stopping her on the sidewalk while a smirk inched up her face.

"What's so funny?"

"Let me get this straight. Jareth spent most of his teenage years babysitting you?"

"Cousins can be built in nannies."

"That means you have dirt," said Sarah, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Calria was nearly bouncing. "I thought you'd never ask."


End file.
